| Summary: | dual-head startup shouldn't depend on BIOS "boot display" choice | ||||||||||||||
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| Product: | xorg | Reporter: | Andrew D. Stadler <stadler> | ||||||||||||
| Component: | Driver/Radeon | Assignee: | Xorg Project Team <xorg-team> | ||||||||||||
| Status: | RESOLVED FIXED | QA Contact: | Xorg Project Team <xorg-team> | ||||||||||||
| Severity: | normal | ||||||||||||||
| Priority: | high | CC: | alexdeucher, freedesktop, lroland, osos | ||||||||||||
| Version: | 6.8.2 | ||||||||||||||
| Hardware: | x86 (IA32) | ||||||||||||||
| OS: | Linux (All) | ||||||||||||||
| Whiteboard: | |||||||||||||||
| i915 platform: | i915 features: | ||||||||||||||
| Attachments: |
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please attach your log and config. Also, you may have to add the monitorlayout option to force proper detection if the bios is in a weird state. See the radeon man page. Compare #1559. Created attachment 3383 [details]
This is my working dual-head config file
Created attachment 3384 [details]
log while BIOS properly configured
Created attachment 3385 [details]
log while BIOS settings are wrong
I have added three attachments. This first is the config file. This was generated by system-config-display using normal dual-head settings. I did make one slight manual change to the file, changing the 2nd monitor to the left side of the laptop display (it defaults to the right) but this change does not affect the problem I am submitting as this bug. Also, I did check the radeon man page and found the section on the MonitorLayout option, and it appears that the xorg.conf file was in fact built with this option set up. The 2nd is a log file after a successful startup (two screens working properly). The 3rd is a log file after an unsuccessful startup - as described below, the main monitor powers up (backlight) but it's all black; The 2nd monitor is up and functioning normally, and it's all blue (login screen background), and I can move the mouse onto it. But the primary login stuff is on the dead 1st monitor so you can't see any of it. > [...] the main monitor powers up (backlight) but it's all black; The > 2nd monitor is up and functioning normally, What happens if you start with the second monitor *disconnected* (remove the cable!) and connect if after X startup? It's an (annoying) workaround on my system. Maybe https://bugzilla.novell.com/show_bug.cgi?id=104640 is also interesting for you... I have gone the route you mentioned (startup w/o 2nd monitor) many times, because this is what happens if I go on a trip, and start up linux (with nothing connected). The result is that it works as properly as you would expect - the login screen comes up on the main monitor. However, detection is still broken, because in this case the 2nd screen seems to be active - the cursor can move offscreen. So in this situation, I have to do this: (1) start up as described (2) log in (3) sudo system-config-display (4) switch off dual-head (5) log out (6) log in At this point I am in proper single-head mode. What this points to is (perhaps) a separate bug: X is not correctly notified that a 2nd monitor is *not* present and it sets up the 2nd monitor driver (and dual-head, xinerama, etc) anyway. Again, using "brand W" OS as the bar, display setup detection should work no matter what screens are configured and what BIOS startup settings there are.... I looked at the Novell bug you mentioned. It seemed that the folks there are having more serious problems than mine; My workaround is to simply go into the BIOS and fix the screen setup, and I only have to do this once in a while (specifically, when I re-dock, the BIOS flips to the 'wrong' setting). It seemed that the folks in that bug are having to unplug the 2nd monitor and they are having to do it every time. I have a IBM T42 (Radeon 9600 (Mobility M10)), running Gentoo using Xorg-6.8.99-15 and linux kernel 2.6.14rc1. I am experiencing the same problem as the original poster: If I am using a external display it only works if I boot the laptop into X and then plugs it in after X is started - if the laptop was booted with the external display, then only the external display is avalibel in X - the internal LCD gets switched off. If I switch to console then the internal LCD gets used (as expected), when I jump back into X again then it is tunred off. As before fn+f7 only have any effect in console - I have tried switching off IBM acpi, using APM and none of it works. I have attached my xorg.conf and startup output: It should be noted that if I use the non-free ati drivers then I do not have this problem. Created attachment 3455 [details]
Log of startup
Log of startup when internal display does NOT get used correctly
Created attachment 3456 [details]
X configuration
I have the same problem on my T30. The only way I can get dual head MergedFB to work is by having the boot display set to LCD in the BIOS setup program. If the setting is DVI+LCD or anything else then when X is started the laptop LCD is black. Just a note, to those of you having problems with the LCD+external monitor, only the LCD and the vga port can be used together. LCD+DVI is currently not supported by the radeon driver. if you try and use that combination, only one or the other will work since the current driver hardcodes both the LVDS (LCD) and the internal TMDS (DVI) controllers to crtc1. At the moment you can only use one or the other. I've been attempting to fix this limitation, but I don't have the hardware to test, so it's tough to get it working by myself. (In reply to comment #13) > Just a note, to those of you having problems with the LCD+external monitor, only > the LCD and the vga port can be used together. LCD+DVI is currently not > supported by the radeon driver. if you try and use that combination, only one > or the other will work since the current driver hardcodes both the LVDS (LCD) > and the internal TMDS (DVI) controllers to crtc1. At the moment you can only > use one or the other. I've been attempting to fix this limitation, but I don't > have the hardware to test, so it's tough to get it working by myself. > For my part it is LCD+VGA that is causing the trouble. If the Xorg developrs are missing hardware to test, then perhaps it would be a good idea if there was a list of hardware that the Xorg project would like to get donated. I for one would be more than happy to have some Radeon driver developer running on a thinkpad with a external VGA display. I had a Debian etch installation on T41 which worked without such problems regardless of the BIOS setting if I recall correctly. Have you checked with Fedora Core 6? OK, haven't looked at this one in a while, so trying. FC6 (latest), kernel 2.6.19-1.2911.fc6, X 7.1.1, ati driver 6.6.3 Reboot. Enter BIOS. Set display to LCD+VGA. Grub comes up on the external monitor. Boot into Linux. Screens go blank. The LCD is blank. If I move the mouse onto the external screen, I can see it, and it has the spinning "working" dots while the system is booting up. Eventually there is a "beep" when the login screen appears. So the problem appears to still exist. Sorry about the phenomenal bug spam, guys. Adding xorg-team@ to the QA contact so bugs don't get lost in future. please try ati git master. if you still have problems reopen. |
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In the thinkpad T30 laptop, the BIOS includes an option for selecting the boot display device. This is supposed to affect booting time only, and it even says in the little BIOS help text, "...until the OS is loaded". In the "Brand W XP" OS, this is true; No matter what this is set to, once the OS itself starts up, the screens are initialized properly. In X under Linux, unfortunately, improper setting of this value messes up the display manager and can put it into an unuseable state. This has been tested in FC2 with IBM BIOS 2.06, and FC3 with IBM BIOS 2.06 and 2.08, with same behavior seen in all combinations. I am running X 6.8.2 currently and still seeing the problem. Again, the specific bug I'm filing is that X should be ignoring this setting and starting up correctly in all conditions. I would call this a minor annoyance, except for two issues: 1. The BIOS "helpfully" resets this value to "both" when you go back onto a dock. So even if you configure it properly once, you have to go back and fix it. 2. To a user who hasn't faced this issue, it is very easy to get the machine in a state where it appears to be broken - blank screens after boot, with no obvious error messages or UI for restarting. This shouldn't happen, obviously.... How reproducible: Always Steps to Reproduce: 1. Boot FC3, plug in 2nd monitor, and configure dual head mode. 2. Reboot. F1 to enter BIOS. Confirm setting "LCD". Finish boot. 3. Confirm proper dual-head operation. 4. Reboot. F1 to enter BIOS. Change boot display device to "CRT" or "BOTH" (2.06) or "Analog VGA" or "VGA+LCD" (2.08 - new names for same settings) 5. Finish booting into FC3 Actual Results: Primary display: backlight on, but no image (all black) Secondary display: plain blue background (it's the extended unused area of the graphical login page) Expected Results: Primary display: graphical login page Secondary display: plain blue background I originally filed this bug as redhat/fedora bug # 140596 <https://bugzilla.redhat.com/bugzilla-old/show_bug.cgi?id=140596>